Penn State University is once again attracting the ire of the environmental community. This time, the university if forcing incoming freshman to read “The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution & Changed the World” by Russell Gold, an energy reporter at the Wall Street Journal.

Students who read the book, will then have the opportunity to write an essay on the book and then the top two go-getters will win a $100 Amazon gift card and meet the book’s author.

The website reads:

Penn State Reads invites first-year students to participate in an essay contest in order to further engage with the themes of the 2015 Penn State Reads selection, The Boom by Russell Gold. Responses to one of the prompts will be judged based on connection to the Penn State Values, a demonstrated ability to think critically about the prompt, responsiveness to prompt, literary style and grammar. The top two submissions will be displayed on the Penn State Reads website. Winners will receive a prize of a $100 Amazon gift card as well as the opportunity to meet Gold when he is on campus October 12-14, 2015. Responses should be no longer than 1,000 words and can be submitted as an attachment to pennstatereads@psu.edu by the deadline of September 11. First year-world campus students are also invited to submit an essay to the contest.

Penn State University freshmen this year will be required to read Russell Gold’s pro-fracking book, “The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World”, as part of the school’s Penn State Reads program. They’ll even be able to win cash prizes for the essays they write on what they’ve learned! Then, in mid-October, Mr. Gold will spend a few days on campus to speak with students and lecture.

Penn State University is nothing if not loyal to the fracking industry!

Please sign and share our petition calling on Penn State to do a whole lot better by their students by scrapping “The Boom” from its reading program and breaking ties with the fossil fuels industry for good!

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